13. We Don T Know Exactly What Paul Instructed Timothy When He Was with Him but We Can

2Timothy 1:13 – 2:2

13. We don’t know exactly what Paul instructed Timothy when he was with him but we can be sure it was consistent with other letters we have from him in the New Testament. Sound teaching must be accompanied with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Just to have the right doctrine is nothing without the life of Christ in you.

14. A deposit is something you place in the hands of another for safe keeping. In verse 12 Paul makes a deposit of his faith with God. Here in verse 14 the deposit is one of sound teaching Paul has placed in Timothy. God has placed a deposit in us too. We have all heard the word and have our Bibles from which the Lord has spoken to us. Just as Timothy was asked to guard that teaching – keep it pure and apply it to life – so we too should guard what we have received with the help of the Holy Spirit.

15. An all inclusive statement that indicates the sad erosion of the life and brotherhood of the early church. It is only 35 years after Pentecost! The very churches Paul founded had turned their backs on him. To follow hard after Christ can be a very lonely walk in which even those we love the most turn from us. Our goal must be Jesus and his “well done” not man and his fickle friendship.

16,17 Prisoners in the days of Roman rule were not fed. It was up to relatives or loved ones to care for them in prison. But it also brought some stigma or question upon the helpers of the imprisoned, like implicating them in the accused action. Onesiphorus is a Greek name. It was a risk all situation for him to help Paul. He could of lost property, and freedom, even his life for refreshing Paul.

18. People who go out of their way to bless the saints are saints. We know the body suffers when one suffers and what we do for another blesses us all. He may have been like a patron supporting Paul’s ministry.

2:1 We too should be strong in the grace that we receive in Christ Jesus. Because of what He did for us we are recipients of grace – unmerited favor. We don’t deserve it but it is ours without question. Be strong in that truth.

2. Those same things that were mentioned in 1:13 – the sound teaching, the thing guarded in verse 14, invest in others who will invest in others. Much of what I share with you are things I have learned from others. I am passing it on to you. Who are you passing it on to? Those truths that stir your heart, that you see to be the very truth about our God, about his Word, invest in someone.

Who are you depositing these truths into?